picard has intended this thread to be focused on economic and real estate side of things. However, I am more interested in the prep side of it. Has your commute influenced your EDC and prep decisions in any way ?

martinfocazio: has your "extreme commuting" affected your type of EDC stuff, especially that a bus commute limits your choices in case of anything happening. I mean that if you have your car, you can even use it as a temporary shelter or decide to take another road , even to another town. That may not be as easy when your bus is crippled and you had to walk carrying your laptop and stuff in a messy situation.

My commute isnt that long (about 25 minutes) but having the kids with me makes me worried some of the time. However, the afternoon trip back home is usually a good chane to see what they do at school and what some of their problems are. If nothing, its time for daddy-kiddy funny chats. I delibrately chose to live a bit far from work for economic and other reasons. In general, if you are paid well, it is too expensive to live there.